Although the effect was already known to Daguerre before him, Man Ray introduced the world to a technique he stumbled upon and perfected called solarization. As Nailya Alexander says “Many artists throughout various periods experimented with solarization, a technique that I think requires a lot of mastery and produces a most powerful effect.”
“Solarized”, an exhibit at Nailya Alexander’s Gallery in New York City. was inspired by Erwin Blumenfeld’s “Manina”, 1936 which hangs prominently in the place of honor at the gallery.
Once the most highly paid fashion photographer in the world, Blumenfeld seemed to have been obsessed with beautiful women.
Other noteworthy artists who, like Blumenfeld, fled nazi Germany, are represented in this show such as Jeanne Mandello – also the first woman to use a Leica, and Josef Breitenbach, known for manipulated and stark photographs. Blanc et Demilly, Edmund Teske, Alexey Titarenko are also represented along with many more whose works introduce the visitor to a hand picked collection of solarized images assembled patiently over a long period of time.
Raphael Shammaa